Shinya Aoki to Defend Lightweight Title Against Koji Ando at ‘ONE: Warrior’s Quest’

Shinya Aoki is set to make the second defense of his ONE Championship lightweight title when he takes on Koji Ando at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 22 in a match-up. ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui announced the bout on Thursday.

Aoki (37-6-0-1) is riding a seven-fight winning streak, which includes submission wins over Kotetsu Boku and Kamal Shalorus in ONE Championship title matches. His most recent win came at IGF on New Year’s Eve when he finished Yuki Yamamoto with a twister.

A former Legend FC 155-pound champion, Ando (11-3-2) has never been stopped in his MMA career and has finished both Rafael Nunes and Zorobabel Moreira inside the ONE Championship cage to earn his title shot.

Ando also has a 2013 stoppage win over reigning ONE Championship 145-pound titleholder Jadamba Narantungalag, while vengeance is likely to be on Aoki’s mind because Moreira is his Evolve MMA teammate and training partner.

The event is titled “ONE: Warrior’s Quest” and this is the first fight on the card to be confirmed. Next up for Asia’s biggest MMA promotion is an event in Manila on April 24, followed by a show in X’ian on May 2.